DIOSCORUS BOLES ON COPTIC NATIONALISM ديسقورس بولس في القومية القبطية

THE PENTAMYTHS OF COPTIC HISTORY خمسة أساطير في التاريخ القبطي

AS ONE READS THE HISTORY OF THE COPTS, and Egypt in general, from its primary sources, one comes across five identifiable historical myths that have been promulgated by lazy writers about the Copts, and their history. It will be part of the work of Coptic Nationalism to dispel these myths, and prove their error. The following constitute these pentamyths of Coptic history:

1. That the Copts welcomed the Arab invaders in 640 AD (and with this myth goes a sub-myth that the Arabs came to liberate the Egyptians).

2. That the Arabs and Islamic rulers were tolerant of the Copts (and with this myth goes the sub-myth that in Islam “to them ‘non-Muslims’ what belong to us ‘Muslims’; and on them what is on us”, a statement which Islamists often quote, which means that under Islamic rule, non-Muslim s and Muslims are equal in rights and burdens[i]).

3. That the Copts did not resist the Arab and Islamic rule, and were happy with it (in itself it is connected to the 2nd myth).

4. That Egypt’s majority became Muslim in the 9th Century.

5. That the Copts were largely Arabised (i.e. relinquished speaking in their own tongue, and started using Arabic) from the 10th Century.

COPTIC NATIONALISM will discuss these, one by one, in the next weeks and months.